Author's Note: I keep forgetting to write these things.
This story is a little bit on the different side than what I usually do, but it's been on my mind. I don't know why, but it has been. So I hope you like it.
Hyo Shin knew the shoes when he walked into the house. Shaking his head, he took the shopping bags to the kitchen and put all the new groceries away. This was his normal, everyday life. His high school days were behind him, and so was the military. He was in college to do what he loved and was tutoring and working at a radio station. He was enjoying life and the relationships he had made. And the many shoes in front of his door proved it some nights.
Usually there were only four pairs of shoes at any given time, but life for his roommate had been very hectic lately. New promotions had to be created and long nights of the computer had become common. Their hours were staggered most of the time so he was usually home by himself a lot. Every now and then he'd catch a glimpse of his roommate flutter by.
He heard a bang on the wall and something shattered followed by a laugh. Another precious item destroyed but contented laughter was always a hopeful sign. Lately the house had been too quiet because he had been home alone or no one was home. Or it was too loud because someone was yelling at a computer. There was no in between.
The bedroom door at the end of the hall flew open, and a figure darted out and to the next door. Hyo Shin caught a glimpse of bare flesh and a pattern of stars. Secretly he was a glad his girlfriend wasn't here. Rachel wouldn't be too keen on the sight he had just witnessed. It was normal for him. For an upstanding woman of society, not so much.
The bathroom door opened again. Hyo Shin watched the woman walk toward him, robe tightly closed around her waist. She sat down on the stool across from him and reached for the spoon in the pot. He slapped her hand but she somehow ended up with it.
"What did you break this time?" he asked while passing a bowl of rice to her.
"A cup," she replied. He scrunched up his nose as he dished out some soup. "It wasn't anything important."
"It was mine." The man who spoke sat down and swiped the woman's bowl. "I have about ten of them."
"Noona, you're a piece of work," Hyo Shin scolded.
"He's judging you, Hana," the other man voiced.
Hana ignored both men and continued eating. Older than Hyo Shin by seven years, Hana was their parents' first attempt at having an attorney general, but she had refused to follow their plan for her life. She had instead gone to a prestigious art school in America and had earned a public relations degree. She had driven a wedge between her and her mother when she had done so, but she hadn't really cared. She wasn't cookie cutter material.
Another major thing going against Hana when it came to their parents was she was extremely sexually active. Hyo Shin could barely keep up with the number of hi sister's partners. She was very health conscious so she didn't have any diseases or of the such, and she had never had more than one partner at a time. She had been in a relationship with every single one of them. Well, all but one.
And he was currently sitting across the island from him.
Cory Woo was a foreign-born publisher who had come to Korea to take over his grandmother's publishing company. He had met Hana while in college and they had become close friends. That friendship had changed after an abusive relationship Hana had been in. Though they slept together on a regular basis, they had never dated. And when they were in relationships, they were monogamous. They were completely loyal to their partners.
Hyo Shin watched the two associate with each other over breakfast. They were way to comfortable with the other, no topic was off limits. Currently, Cory was looking under the collar of her robe.
"How's your new propaganda going?" he asked, hoping desperately to get their focus on something else. He really didn't want to see his sister naked.
"I finished it last night. Our new department head is coming tomorrow and I have to present," she answered, making a face in the process.
"Well, please keep your neck covered."
She stared at him, a dull look encompassing her bright eyes. "Really? I thought I was going to wear a crop top with a very short skirt."
Cory shook his head and spooned hand at the same time. "No. I would kill you."
The youngest person laughed. "You're not even dating."
The older man was adamant. "Hana is better than that. She may be a little looser with physical issues," Hana laughed at his choice of words, "but she doesn't broadcast it by the clothes she wears."
Hana pointed at him. "He wouldn't let me leave my dorm in a sexy nurse's costume when we were in college."
"It's amazing you two are even friends," Hyo Shin joked.
Though the comment was made as a joke, Hyo shin was legitimately worried about his sister. She was an atypical woman living in a typical world. She didn't want to be tied down, and that often led to abusive relationships. She'd always had Cory to fall back on. But eventually Cory was going to find someone for himself. Where would that leave Hana? She couldn't follow him, not that she did anyway.
Watching her, he saw Hana's carefree nature, but he could also see the quiet contemplative woman he had known growing up. She was fun, but she was a typical woman. She wanted a deep and loving relationship, particularly with a man who was as wild as she was when she was ready to go.
"Little brother." He snapped out of his stupor. She was smiling at him. "I'm all right."
"I just worry about you," he admitted. "Eomma said you struggled a little when I went to the army."
She chuckled a bit. When he'd gone to the army right after high school, she had been finishing her master's degree. She had wanted to come home to see him off, but school had demanded her attention. But when she had come back, her mother wouldn't let her in the house unless she went on a blind date. She had dated one guy for a few months, but it hadn't felt right. Since then, she hadn't tried blind dating again. And with Cory firmly at her side, she didn't typically worry. She wasn't the type just to jump into marriage.
"Noona," she looked up at him. He reached across the island and rubbed his thumb under her eye. Her lip quivered, and he knew she was feeling something deeper than she was letting on.
Cory rested his hand on Hyo Shin's wrist. It wasn't demanding but it was asking him to stop. Knowing that the man knew his sister, he pulled his hand back and set about cleaning up from breakfast.
The older adults placed the empty bowls in the sink and went to get dressed. Hyo Shin could hear them talking as they got ready. It was a rare mixture of English and Korean. Hana was fluent in several languages but he'd never heard her speak them. Hearing it now made him mesmerized by his sister even more.
They were still talking as they emerged. Cory looked like his normal self in khakis and a nice shirt. Hana on the other hand looked out of character.
So he laughed. "In the last eight years, I've never seen you in pants."
"I only wear them when it's important," she said.
"The tattoos on her ankles are frowned upon," Cory laughed.
She nodded. "And my back. And my shoulders, and…"
Cory slapped a hand over her mouth. "This may be your home, but there are few things that need to be kept secret."
"Enough, you two perverts. You're going to be late for work," Hyo Shin scolded. He handed them two wrapped lunch boxes. "It's leftovers from our work party last night. I know Sky Line is your favorite restaurant so I figured you'd like these."
Hana smiled and accepted the blue clothed box. "No matter what, you're still my favorite person."
Hyo Shin waved her off. Cory raised his gift in thanks and followed the woman out the door. The young man could hear them bickering as they walked down the hallway.
"Noona!"
Hana looked up from the computer at the dark headed man who had called her name burst into her glass office. Things had been pretty quiet since she had arrived, but everything was starting to pick up as it always did. She was swamped with new things that always came up when she was excited about something.
He looked out of breath. He pushed at his frizzing hair to get his bangs out of his eyes. This was Yoon Chan Young, a very smart man who had a keen eye for colors and impressive things.
"What did I miss at the meeting this morning?" she asked.
"Alpha Advertising is coming in a day early. Our presentation is due at one," he advised.
Hana paused what she was doing momentarily the continued clicking away on the computer. "It's all printed out and put together. You're doing the presentation anyway. You don't need me."
She spun around and came face to face with him. He looked pitiful, but not enough to make her pity him. He had done presentations before. This was nothing new.
"Noona! You have to help me," he complained.
She shook her head and turned back to her computer. "No. You've done this too many times before for me to pity you. Go do your job."
He shook the back of her chair in attempts to get her to go with him. "This is too big for me. Help me. Please."
"You figured your way around Jeguk High School. Jeguk Company isn't any different. You weren't hired because you were a kiss ass. You were hired because you take charge when I'm gone."
He sputtered at her. "But you're right here right now."
"Consider me not here from this point on. I've got some other things to work on and don't need to be disturbed."
Chan Young felt the push back she was known for giving. No matter how much he begged, she wasn't going to give him her time. He had been hired to give advertising presentations. He was supposed to show that they could benefit Alpha Advertising in the way Jeguk Group needed. The company was still coming off the scandal of Tan's birth, and forming an alliance with Alpha Advertising was going to help bring their popularity back up again.
Hana looked back at the boy who was only a year younger than her brother. He looked like a lost puppy at that time that it made her want to laugh. But she wasn't going to because that was going to make things a little bit more difficult for him.
There was a knock on the door. Cory's smiling face greeted her. She looked up at Chan Young and saw his pout. She laughed at him and touched his elbow gently.
"He's only here to deliver the fliers you're going to need for the presentation," she defended.
Everyone knew Cory was known to show up and they would disappear. It was something everyone had come to expect and at the same time they were used to the life style of their art director.
Cory handed the box to him. "There are ten copies of the 8.5'x11' and twelve of the legal copies. Rise made a poster sized version by hand first and we edited it this way. There will be a little bit of distortion since it's been shrunk but it's still the same piece. I hope this helps with your presentation."
Chan Young looked at Hana as if she had grown a second or third head. "Why do you do this?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do what?"
"You make me feel like I can't do anything then produce something you know I'm going to need."
Hana shook her hands in front of her face. "I didn't do anything. They were supposed to be delivered today. It just so happens the presentation was moved up by a day."
Cory was shocked. "They moved the presentation up?" Both people nodded. "Are you presenting?"
She shook her head. "No. I have some other business I have to do. If it were tomorrow, I may. But today is another account I need to make to make Won happy."
Chan Young looked nervous. "I still can't believe you call him by his name."
"I'm older than he is and he called me noona growing up just like you did. I don't care that he's a CEO. He's still Won."
Cory laughed. "It's amazing you haven't been fired yet."
"She's one of my best workers." They were all slightly surprised to see Kim Won, CEO of Jeguk Group in her door. "Yoon Chan Young, are you ready?"
Chan Young cast Hana a look but she waved him on. He dropped his head then grabbed the box from Cory's hands. He plodded past Won and took a left. Hana laughed at him only when he was out of earshot. Won shook his head.
"You're brutal to him some days," he admonished.
"I'm not brutal. Just real. He can do anything he sets his mind to. I've seen it. He just doesn't want to give this presentation." She had returned to her computer to save her work.
"If they had come tomorrow like originally planned, you would be doing the presentation. But they insisted on coming today due to the CEO's family plans tomorrow. Even he can't get out of things like that."
"He just doesn't have the right issues to do so."
Cory looked at Won when the younger man made a face. "You really don't want to get involved with that, do you? Think of your wife and what she would say."
Won nodded as he pulled a face. "Oh, she would say plenty. Everyone already does."
"That's the beauty of it," Hana said. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. So I like to have sex. So does everyone else. I'm just a little more open about it."
"You're judged for it as well." She shrugged, and that's all Won needed to understand about his friend and employee. "All right. Just be careful."
She laughed. "You're the third person to tell me that."
Won laughed then excused himself to go to the meeting. Hana walked Cory to the elevator so he could go down as she was headed up. They heard the doors ding then open. Six well-dressed men walked out after a secretary and headed to the conference room.
"I think that's my brother," Cory said as they watched them pass by.
"Does your brother work at Alpha Advertising?" Hana asked. He nodded as he watched the men disappear. "Then that's Eric. And you better go or you're going to be late for your own meeting."
Cory ruffled her hair before stepping into the elevator. The doors shut behind him, and Hana pushed the button to the box again. This time she looked over her shoulder in time to see Won meeting everyone outside the conference room. Unsurprisingly, he pointed at her, causing the six men to turn around and look at her. She bowed in hello then stepped on the elevator. As the doors closed, she could have sworn one of the men watched her long after she had disappeared.